I tried to condense my semester’s body of work down into these 20 images. The narrative of this series of images is a strong representation of my thought-process about the solitude of suburban girl culture. I realized that not only are the images sarcastic and bolder than I had expected but they are also melancholic in this particular arrangement. The shapes that make up the sharpie images in particular are telling of the cold isolation even among populated consumer culture.
These 2 new paintings help to reveal the vanity of suburban girl world. Ironically self-image issues are often mistaken for vanity. The first image is taken from a still from the film Heathers. Heather says to Heather, “Bulimia is so ’87″. I am interested in this violence and the real truth that underlies dark comedy.
This was my first attempt at cutting video and audio.
I created this as an art project. I wanted to comment on the absurdity of fame and popularity and also the violence of girl world.
I used video clips from Heathers, Alice in Wonderland, Wish Upon a Star and Virgin Suicides and music from Radio Dept., Joan Jett and Hole to make this fake movie trailer. Andy Warhol was also quoted in the trailer.
Playing off of my last painting of Kate Moss, I created more images of this “idol worship”. Both in the figures and the way of paint application, I’m using sarcasm to explain the absurdity of looking to others for identity validation. My painting in this style is used as a social commentary- the quickness of the strokes and often unflattering depictions in the images should lower these images to an undesirable place. Depicting this girl culture sarcastically will hopefully lead viewers to consider the negative side of suburbia and the oddness of suburban aspirations.
Kate Moss Seance
Kate Moss as an icon. Linocut Print
Teenage Dream
How to be Famous, a Guide.
Hi friends,
Through great luck and the recognition from wonderful people, I’m excited to announce that I’ve been featured in a couple articles about my work and professional endeavors.
The Wall Street Journal’s Katie Rosman was nice enough to reach out during her process of writing the article “Big Marketers on Campus”. The graphic design poster I made for Stylitics, the NYC company I am an ambassador for, was featured in the article along with my photo. See the online version of the article here. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303816504577321594090033560.html
The art department at Mizzou was nice enough to take notice of this article. I sat down with a faculty member of the department and talk about my life as an artist, graphic designer, fashion intern and ambassador. This is what resulted: http://coas.missouri.edu/news/2012/armstrong.shtml
I feel very grateful for all the positive recognition! 
!
My newest painting, spawned from a goal to indulge myself, is of a fashion icon who embodies the very idea of indulgence. Kate Moss, a model known for her habits of smoking and drugs and who exudes sex appeal always, seemed to be an interesting topic to add fortification to my current collection. My theme has been about identity in suburbia, often depicted through mass produced fashion. Kate Moss herself seems to be the antithesis of this idea while at the same time, because of her near icon-worship worthy status among girls of the suburbs, upholds the idea of second-hand identity. Girls want to be her though she is clearly a less than ideal role model. This work was meant to comment on the absurdity of identity-envy and also the impossibility of ever fully attaining and claiming it.
Also while in New York I came across a construction zone with destructed Kate posters posted all over it. The repetition and setting was too interesting not to photograph.
Artist Statement
I’m interested in exploring the idea of consumerism and its affect on mass identity through looking at suburbia and fashion. Not only does the public choose an outward (public) mass produced identity through fashion, but even within homes, the most private of places, mass produced goods are still prevalent. The strangeness of a prescribed identity, often adopted by the public, is a contradiction to the very idea of identity as a personal and unique entity. Trends and repetitive behavior of the masses within the home and fashion choices are absurdities to me and I want to help expose them through my body of artwork.
The following are recent oil paintings I did in order to move from the pure fashion drawings from my previous collection of 20 into more of a narrative about repetition in daily life. Here is the pattern on a scarf, the fashionable hairdo shared by many, the singularity of being recognized on a crowded sidewalk, the shapes people make in crowds (here awaiting a fashion show), and the monotony but also sentimentality of a suburb.
Because I am so inspired by fashion, patterns and Sofia Coppola films, I was thrilled to come across this gem of a video. Sofia has recently directed this video promoting a new line at H&M by Marni, a fashion house known for their blocky colors and prints. My interests are finally culminating- and they look as good as I always imagined. Enjoy.
I have spent the past 3 weeks composing these next images. They all evolve some way around my mind map and the connections found within it. The images that I found either similar in subject matter, medium, etc., I tried to place accordingly so the images would flow.
pattern, ironic lack of identity, shapes – sharpie
90′s fashion, repetition, ironic lack of identity – graphite
fashion, vogue lifestyle, nyc life – sharpie
my sister, stripes, fashion – sharpie
Sofia Coppola, Vogue Lifestyle, aesthetic – chalk pastel
repetition, Graphic Design, consumerism – sharpie
abstraction, repetition, fashion – chalk pastel
shapes, abstraction, pattern – sharpie
shapes, legacy, Möbius strip – lipstick, sharpie, colored pencil on wood
history, superficiality, Sofia Coppola – sharpie
my sister, aesthetic, insight – sharpie
pattern, glamour, superficiality – sharpie
